Psalm 38 - O LORD, Rebuke Me Not in Thy Wrath
A raw penitential prayer linking physical suffering to unconfessed sin.
Psalm 38, one of the penitential psalms grouped in this Psalms overview, opens with David asking the LORD not to rebuke him in wrath. He describes his suffering in physical terms: arrows stuck fast, no soundness in his flesh, wounds that stink, and a heart that pants with exhaustion.
O Yahweh, do not, in thine anger, correct me, nor, in thy wrath, chastise me;
For, thine arrows, have sunk down into me, and thy hand, presseth heavily upon me.
There is no soundness in my flesh, By reason of thine indignation, There is no peace in my bones, By reason of my sin;
For, mine iniquities, have passed over my head, Like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me:
My wounds are of bad odour—they have festered, by reason of my folly:
I am bent, I am bowed down very low. All the day, have I gloomily walked;
For, my loins, are filled with inflammation, and there is no soundness in my flesh:
I am benumbed and crushed exceedingly,—I have cried aloud because of the groaning of my heart.
O My Lord! before thee, is all my longing, and, my sighing, from thee, hath not been hid:
My heart, fluttereth, my strength hath forsaken me, and, as for the light of mine eyes, even they, are not with me:
My lovers, and my friends, from before my stroke, stand aloof,—and, my near ones, far away, do stand:
Yea they who are seeking my life, have laid snares, and they who are asking my harm, have threatened engulfing ruin, And, deceitful things—all day long, do they mutter.
But, I, as one deaf, will not hear,—and as one dumb, who will not open his mouth:
Thus have I become as a man who cannot hear, in whose mouth are no arguments:
Because, for thee, O Yahweh, have I waited, Thou, wilt answer, O Adonay, my God!
For I said, Lest they rejoice over me! When my feet were tottering, against me, have they magnified themselves:
For, I, to halt, am ready, and, my pain, is before me continually;
For, mine iniquity, will I declare, I shall be anxious because of my sin;
And, my foes, are alive—have become strong,—and multiplied are they who hate me for false cause:
Even they who are repaying evil for good, accuse me because I pursue the good.
Do not forsake me, O Yahweh, My God! be not far from me:
Make haste to help me, My Lord, my deliverance!